Sleep and forgetting in children with genetic generalised epilepsy

Corrigan, Fiona MacDonald (2015) Sleep and forgetting in children with genetic generalised epilepsy. D Clin Psy thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Objective: Given the well-established association between epilepsy and sleep disturbance and the evidence suggesting the importance of sleep in memory consolidation, there is reason to investigate the relationship between sleep and rate of forgetting in children with epilepsy. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep and forgetting in children with Genetic Generalised Epilepsy (GGE). Methods: Participants were 19 children with GGE (9-15 years old). Actigraphy, sleep diaries and standardised questionnaires were used to measure sleep over a week long period. Rate of forgetting was measured using neuropsychological tests at the beginning and end of the study week. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to determine if poorer sleep was associated with poorer initial learning and rate of forgetting in verbal memory recall and recognition. Results: No association was found between sleep efficiency or duration and rate of forgetting. Measures of sleep disturbance were mixed, with sleep onset latency found to be associated with rate of forgetting on the Word Lists test. However, increased wake after sleep onset was associated with decreased rate of forgetting. Conclusions: Whilst there was limited evidence of a relationship between some actigraphic sleep parameters and rate of forgetting for verbal information, the results were mixed and likely biased by the small sample size. There is need for further research with a larger sample to establish the nature of the relationship between sleep and rate of forgetting in children with GGE.

• Item Type: Thesis (D Clin Psy)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Sleep; Forgetting; Memory Consolidation; Children; Epilepsy
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology; R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Supervisor's Name: Dorris, Dr. Liam
• Date of Award: September 2015
• Depositing User: Fiona Corrigan
• Unique ID: glathesis:2015-6695
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 29 Sep 2015 15:42
• Last Modified: 06 Oct 2015 09:59
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/6695